It is a scandal that should shake the world: Shiite parties in Iraq want to allow the marriage of girls from the age of nine!

Why is this an issue???

Shiite MPs have proposed an amendment to the Iraqi Parliament, to change the Civil Status Law, No. 188, which has been in force since 1959. Among other things, this draft, drawn up by a Shiite law school, aims to reduce the minimum age for marrying girls to nine years...

The Iraqi Parliament approved this amendment in principle in early November, but the Parliament has not yet finalised the legal process which will fully incorporate the amendment into the country's legal code.

The Iraqi Civil Status Law No. 188, of 1959, is, from today's point of view, very progressive. It ensured state jurisdiction over Sharia courts, and banned polygamous and forced marriages. In addition, it set the minimum marriageable age at 18 years.

In the Iraqi population, the idea of giving up these standards has created an outcry and considerable resistance from Christian and Yezidi minorities, and other groups of the population. Following these protests, Ján Kubiš, the Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), on 9 November 2017, called for extensive consultations to ensure respect for women's rights and to protect children.

Further strong statements came from the Parliament of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, which, on 9 November, 2017, decided to reject the proposed amendments...and, also, from the US State Department:

Heather Nauert, spokeswoman for the US Department of State, criticised the Iraqi Parliament's agreement, in principle, to the legislative initiative. The Kurdistan News Agency 24 quotes her, on behalf of the American Government, as saying: "We strongly oppose the idea that children can be married to adults and reject it." Nauert also said, "It's not so long ago, that we [the US Government] condemned ISIS for taking children as brides."

This petition is addressed to Ján Kubiš, the Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq (UNAMI), with an urgent request to influence the Iraqi government and the Iraqi leaders, to ensure that this legislative proposal - which, among other things, is clearly against the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (which Iraq signed in 1994) - can be stopped.

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No marriages of 9-year-old girls in Iraq!

For the Kind Attention of:

Special Representative and Head of the UN Assistance Mission in Iraq - Mr Ján Kubiš

We urge you to use all your influence on the Iraqi Government and on Iraqi political leaders so as to reject the legislative initiative introduced in the Iraqi Parliament amending Civil Status Law No. 188, from 1959.

The reduction of marriageable age intended in this bill, which would allow girls to marry from the age of 9, is clearly against basic children's rights and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, which was signed by Iraq in 1994.

The passage of such a law would deliver a serious blow to the many, recent efforts designed to secure and enhance basic women's and children's rights in Islamic countries.

We thank you for your commitment to protecting children and preventing their marriage from the age of nine - and the sexual abuse which would inevitably follow after marrying.

Sincerely,[Your Name]

No marriages of 9-year-old girls in Iraq!

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